Beachfront Bliss

By now you know that our happiness is largely based on proximity to water, so for us this place was even better than Rovinj. The beach was right across the street and there was plenty of it in either direction so we could wander around until we found a spot we liked. Basically this consisted of trying to find a spot where the pebbles were the smallest. There isn’t often places with shade and I am super happy I purchased a “sunbrella” (that’s my name for it) for the trip. Before I left I bought an umbrella small enough to fit in my handbag that also provides protection from UV rays. I’ve learned from our travels that sometimes you can be stuck out in the blazing sun for a long time without any reprieve, like when cuing up for ferry tickets and such. I can handle the heat if my brain isn’t melting, so having this tiny unit to cover my head at the beach has been the best!

I’ve also noticed in the past few years I have started to suffer from hyper pigmentation on my forehead and around my lips. Being in the sun makes it much worse so I’m trying my best to keep my face protected while at the same time wanting my head to match the colour of my body. If you’d like one of these gadgets, I grabbed mine from Shoppers Drug Mart. It’s made by Fulton and its proper name is Parasoleil.

Before we left we also purchased two light weight quick drying beach towels from MEC. These will come in handy once we get to places that don’t provide towels for showers and they are so much more comfortable than sarongs when using them at the beach. I love my sarongs but for rougher beaches like those in Croatia they are useless. I am still holding out on the water shoes. No urchins seen here yet, and I’m managing to look less like a tight rope walker while getting in and out of the water.

Fun and Games

There was a long stretch of beach leading from our place to Old Town and no shortage of little places along the way to eat and drink. There were also some excellent amenities right on the waterfront including beach volleyball courts, basketball courts, a dive platform, a pool, and Bocce Ball lanes. I loved passing by here each night on our way to dinner and seeing the older gentlemen engaged in intense games of Bocce Ball.

It’s been an extraordinarily hot summer in Europe and our beautiful host Tatjana told us that this is the only summer she has had to use her air conditioner every day. Walking home in the evening was the only time the weather was “cool” enough (24 degrees) to comfortably amble around without turning into a sweaty mess. Once the sun goes down lots of little market stalls open up along the promenade and there are also many street performers (mainly the statue kind). There are people selling light up balloons which I loved and clearly based in this photo so did other adults.

Along the Promenade you will come across the Sea Organ. It looks simply like a set of steps. The organ works by allowing water and air to flow under the lower steps which is then funneled into chambers and pushed out through the pipes on the upper steps. This process produces the notes (7 chords and 5 tones). Unfortunately we were there in the evenings and it was so busy it was hard to capture the notes on video over the sound of the people. I stole this picture off the Zadar Tourist Board site to give you a better view of the steps and have posted a video on the YouTube channel even though it doesn’t do it justice.

 

It was cool to watch how intrigued little kids were (and some adults), putting their ear down over the openings to investigate. Right by the Sea Organ you will also find the Greeting to the Sun, a 22-meter circular light installation which is composed of three hundred multi-layered glass plates. To read more about it check out the info on the Zadar Tourist Board Website.

Other Sights

The Church of St. Donatus and St. Mary’s Church were quite beautiful at dusk, but also busy. And there were quite a few people in this main area with very colorful birds charging tourists for photos with them. Some birds were bright pink and others were black or white. They had these crazy Count Dracula teased feather collars. Imagine a pigeon version of a soother touting, fun fur wearing, candy kid raver. They were insane looking. Andre insists they are pigeons with dye jobs and head dresses, despite their keeper’s claims that they are “all natural”.

 

 

 

 

 

We also passed by the Pillar of Shame. A pillar once used to chain up and humiliate “trouble makers” in the middle ages. I wanted to chain Andre to it and shame him for ruining my last video. He rambled on about musicians the entire time I was filming the Greeting to the Sun lights. If you listen very carefully you may be able to faintly hear the sound of the Sea Organ amidst his incessant jabbering. He takes great pleasure in irritating me. It’s how he entertains himself. Unfortunately I had nothing to chain him to the pillar with. This is him looking ashamed. He’s not. He’s very pleased with himself.

Great Eats

We had some outstanding meals in Zadar. We ate a few times at a restaurant called Bruschetta, which is always busy and for good reason. On our last night we wanted to dine there but hadn’t made a reservation. There was no possibility of getting in so we headed down the road to “food alley” where there are endless places to eat back to back. We randomly chose a place called La Cucina. This turned out to be the worst meal we have had since leaving Canada, but we met a lovely couple who were also experiencing the same culinary hell and we bonded over the experience. They were from Ireland. He was Irish and she was Polish. We had a really great time chatting with them which made the terrible meal worth it. Before we left we gave them some restaurant recommendations, although we couldn’t suggest anything for breakfast. We have yet to find much in the way of a breakfast that reminds us of home. Don’t get me wrong, we have had some delicious things but sometimes you just want what you’ve grown up with. The young couple agreed that they have had the same problem and commented that the traditional European breakfast appears to be cigarettes and coffee. Too funny. 

 

59 days in… and over 400 kilometers walked. Andre says, “We’re getting our steps in.”

Let’s go to Trogir.